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29 September 2016

I have been so very tired since moving here, mostly because I cannot get enough sleep no matter what I try- I always wake up before I've hit eight hours. It doesn't matter if I exercised a lot the day before, if I was exhausted the day before, if I wore a mask over my eyes and ear plugs, if I go to bed at 9 or at 11, whatever. It's also not helping that the dusty air is bothering me a lot more than I expected it would. Pollution and pollen have never bothered me, but the dust is hard for me to breathe in.

Yesterday was the worst of all and I had to use all of my energy to get the grocery shopping done because I have no flexibility on that point and if I didn't go, I wouldn't have another chance for days. I couldn't go on a bike ride and I didn't go to Arabic because I couldn't bike there and couldn't imagine saying anything coherent even in English. Getting up to the third floor to work on the laundry was almost not doable. It was awful.

But last night I finally came closer to eight hours of sleep and I feel so much better today. I woke up with the alarm which I've kept setting even though this is the first time in two months that I've needed it because I have faith that someday I will need it again all the time. It's still been an up and down day, like days always are when you're trying to adjust to a new place, but it's so much easier to deal with the problems when you're not so very tired. I even felt like blogging today, as you can see.

We borrowed some extension cords yesterday so I could finish trimming the lawn. There are no outlets outside for some unknown reason and the weed whacker is 110 so it has to plug into a transformer, and the extension cord isn't long enough to get all of the grass. I did as much as I could a couple of weeks ago, but there's one chunk in particular that's pretty shaggy, as it would be after two months. But most of the extension cords were two-pronged instead of three so I couldn't use them, then a power strip blew out when I plugged it into the transformer (and I am very glad it was just a power strip and not a blender) so I only ended up with about 3 feet more range. Then the trimmer spool exploded. So I have now ordered more spools and a long extension cord because getting to the store that would have that kind of stuff isn't on the schedule for at least the next ten days.

But I did go to the pharmacy (I can always schedule a trip for medical reasons), signed up for our absentee ballots even though Utah is going to give its electoral votes to the worst presidential candidate in living memory, went on a bike ride between getting people out the door, moved my computer into another room where I get to choose how cluttered the space is or is not, and it was only 77 degrees outside this morning at our house.

14,000 Saudi women signed a petition earlier this week demanding the end of guardianship here. I am lucky that I don't have to worry about this (and a lot of other things that Saudi women have to deal with, and expats with browner skin than mine because white privilege is even more noticeable here than just about anywhere else I've lived), but it is high time it ended. The religious decision makers have made various statements about this recently, from showing some willingness to at least change the rules somewhat to saying that ending guardianship would be the end of Saudi society, so I very much hope this goes somewhere.

I also have a long post in me about why I am voting for Hillary Clinton, and not just voting against Donald Trump.

Going on a bike ride in the morning has been so lovely. I can ride on an interesting trail and squeeze in a ride between pickups for the people leaving. It's a lot cooler now in the mornings than when I first got here, but bike rides are so much more pleasant than walking when it's hot. Soon it will be cool enough in the morning that I'll be able to go on a walk.

Also, I see lots of couples here holding hands or touching each other. Including Saudi couples. I still have never, ever seen the religious police.